Don’t except the lovable Mickey Mouse from your childhood at the Twisted Mouse Show at PIQ, a boutique gift-outlet cum toy store in Grand Central Terminal, will remind you of Pylones. Instead the show, aimed at celebrating every one’s favorite Disney character, is filled with disturbing figurines as well as paintings and prints that casts the Mickey’s darker side. Of course, the show is not completely bereft of cuteness.

The Twisted Mouse Show opened on March 14 in Grand Central Terminal but you can see and buy all the mouse-andise online.

Interview by Ilene Strizver(kHyal + Karl’s collaborative answers were written and edited by Free Range Copy.)

Karl Heine, principal and solutionist of creativeplacement with offices in CT and NY, knows what it takes for creatives to nab that perfect job. After all, he has been placing creative talent for over 25 years, with many extremely satisfied clients and employers. Karl often lectures designers and students on how to best present themselves and their work to prospective employers or clients to get noticed amidst a sea of potential candidates, and hopefully get that job. One important element that most employers are looking at is a candidate’s typography skills. kHyal is a creative director, strategist and writer who partners with Karl in life and work—including museum, conference and design school workshops, lectures on business practices and marketing for creative professionals, as well as portfolio and resume reviews. We spoke with both Karl and kHyal about this very important topic.

Q. How important is good typography for creatives when looking for a job?

A. Graphic Design has become an increasingly overcrowded industry. And, in the US, still does not require certification of any kind. While untrained, or under-trained, designers are able to find full- and part-time jobs, and freelance projects, the top tier opportunities still require a high level of talent, skill and knowledge in all aspects of design, and very heavily in typography. Design professionals hiring within agencies and in-house corporate design departments meticulously review all materials from prospective candidates, starting with typography. Many design firm owners and creative directors pride themselves on being typographically savvy, and if they see the incorrect use of type, spacing and style, it can determine whether if they will go to the next step of viewing a portfolio or website.

Q. How important is the type and design of one’s resume? Any tips?

A. Type and design excellence on a resume are critical. They are key to having a hiring manager look at your portfolio and consider an in-person interview. Creative directors often won’t consider a candidate if they see typographic or design errors on a resume. And, most won’t take the time to tell you. Using an easy-to-read, professional typeface with a clean layout is fundamental—as is keeping all relevant information within the top third of the page, knowing that most resume views are in the 10 to 15 second range.

People take resume advice from many sources. In the case of graphic design, it’s important to understand what design professionals look for, which is very specific to the industry. This means a general expert on resume writing may suggest the exact opposite of what’s needed for a design career job, which can result in resumes that are poorly executed using incorrect terminology, inappropriate formatting, template-like design and a system typeface exported to a PDF from a Word document. This is the kiss of death for designers.

Simple yet impactful, this resume catches the eye with an opening quotation that is relevant to this person’s area of experience. Generous white space helps draw attention to the content.

A pop of color combined with a strong type treatment make this resume a standout.

Naming your resume is of the same importance as naming your client files. For instance, you would never name a project file “Branding Manual” without specifying the client name and other organizational information. Naming your resume “resume” usually results in that file ending up in the trashcan, or being overwritten with someone else’s file that has made a similar file-naming mistake. Remember, that there are often dozens, or even hundreds of applicants for most publicized opportunities. Your resume and how the file is named need to be professional and distinguishable.

An example of best practices for resume file naming would be: LastName_FirstName_Resume_Year. Using underscores provides clarity and the least possibility for file corruption. When it comes to email addresses, it’s best to have your first and last name connected to either your website, or a user-friendly/most accepted portal like Gmail. Many companies organize their prospects by name and by email. If you make up an unrelated pseudonym like graffitidznr237@gmail.com, no one will remember it or find you. It is much better to identify yourself clearly with an email that makes sense, like: sammy@sammyhendicks.com or hello@sammyhendricks.com. We advise against using initials with birthdates or any other extraneous information in your email address.

Q. What about typography in a portfolio—does a potential employer really have time to notice these details?

A. All portfolios and related marketing materials should be consistent and use excellent typography. Portfolio pieces should be annotated with short descriptions, using type that isn’t too large or distracting so that it detracts from the actual work. Minimal, understated design is always the best answer when it comes to portfolios, so the actual work remains the focal point.

Most potential employers want to see examples of design work. At first they will spend a short time to review the level of talent and appropriateness of work for the position. If the typography and other elements take their focus away, a designer might lose out entirely. This includes things like not putting all of your contact information on every page with a logo.

Q. What about business cards, emails, and follow up letters—are they necessary?

A. Business cards are your in-person greeting and introduction. You only have one first impression, and as a designer you have the opportunity to showcase your work in a compact form. If you make it special, it also provides a chance to talk about process. This is a major opportunity to strike up a conversation with a potential employer or client, and it allows the receiving party a look into how you present and think.

This should not be a time for making excuses for a card you created but don’t believe in. We have actually heard things like: “Here’s my card, I printed it out at home with what I had for copy paper and my scissors were a little off, sorry.” It’s better not to hand someone a card, than to give him or her something that doesn’t prove that you have professional skills. With specialty printing getting better and less expensive every day, including digital printing and quick turn around times—it’s well worth the investment.

Left: A clever concept (the corner appears burned off) that plays off of the unusual company name makes for an unforgettable business card.Right: The most important information stands out amidst the highly decorative background pattern.

Left: This letterpress business card uses type to create a textural pattern of information.Right: The beautiful curves of an oversized g is the focal point of this card, enhanced by the dimension of letterpress printing.

Left: A clever dye cut and a textured stock highlight the focus of this studio.Right: A gold foil embossed turkey steals the show in this quirky card.

Left: An inventive and memorable business card treatment that harks back to pre-digital age designers’ tools.Right: A whimsical typographic logo catches the eye, as it sits atop a simple text treatment.

After the meet and greet, it’s imperative to send a thank you email right away. That means the same day, not two or three days later. This level of follow up is expected. Additionally, it’s even better to also send a “Thank You” card or letter in the mail. A very small percentage of people do this, so it truly makes you stand out. The card should be handmade, not a store-bought version, which provides yet another opportunity to show off your work. Take the time to be inventive.

Q. Do good typography skills give potential candidates an edge or advantage?

A. Great typography goes a long way, and provides a huge advantage over other candidates vying for design jobs. We have seen many skilled designers take this one step further and create their own typeface, then apply it to a personal project or license it for sale.

Q. What have you heard from potential employees in this regard?

A. We have seen many occurrences where designers working under a well-known typographer during an internship have radically improved their understanding of typography and design, and changed the course of their future careers.

Q. What should you do if you think your typography skills aren’t up to the same level as your design?

A. This is a common problem that can typically be remedied with additional typography training and outside classes geared toward raising the level of typographic awareness and skill. It’s mostly an issue of time and how it applies to growth, and to a lesser degree natural talent and aptitude. Learning and development in this area takes practice, trial and error, and the ability to break old habits. We believe that learning is a life-long process and that designers at all levels should strive to learn and improve their skills constantly. There are countless ways to do that through traditional classes, workshops, talks, books, and online courses.

Q. Any final words or suggestions?

A. In a time where there are more graduates in graphic design than there are jobs, it’s important to learn as much as you can, and constantly improve on those skills with practice and additional learning. Since your resume is often the first introduction to a potential employer and is primarily type-based, understanding best practices is key.

* * * * *

Ilene Strizver, founder of The Type Studio, is a typographic consultant, designer, writer and educator specializing in all aspects of visual communication, from the aesthetic to the technical. Her book, Type Rules! The designer’s guide to professional typography, 4th edition, has received numerous accolades from the type and design community. She conducts her widely acclaimed Gourmet Typography Workshops internationally. For more information on attending one or bringing it to your company, organization, or school, go to her site, call The Type Studio at 203-227-5929, or email Ilene at info@thetypestudio.com. Sign up for her free e‑newsletter, All Things Typographic, at www.thetypestudio.com.

Crushing fashion, art, business and brand into a storm of pattern, surface design and wearable art. Meet the complex kHyal™

Fashion is irrational, expansive, a semiological beast that floods, pushes and escapes, adaptive to constraints and free expression. To use the term fashion in the broadest sense, far from just the runways of high fashion and more specifically fashion as a term referring to a philosophy, as a reflection of cultural, sociological and psychological significance that moves far beyond clothes and reflects our perceptions of change and importance. As such fashion bellows the sails of Art (pun intended); subject to its logic and governed by its insistence on innovative supplementation, cyclically caught in the act of forgetting and remembering. Every snapshot branding the hyper-ecstatic beauty of its temperament.

The field of fashion philosophy is young in comparison to the philosophies of art. Bookishly exciting for the multi-faceted connections and histories shared whether as dusty as Kantian questions of beauty, the function of the art object, or in Walter Benjamin’s anxieties for technology’s impact on the reproducibility of art and the tendency of photography to beautify the object to Anne Hollander, who states categorically “Dress is a form of visual art, a creation of images with the visible self as its medium” yet never answering why clothes are traditionally excluded from the domain of Art. Roland Barthes’s theories on the fashion system serve as a foundation for the field of fashion philosophy and is a critical read for anyone interested in this arena. Contemporary fashion theorists such as Lars Svendsen whose text Fashion: A Philosophy points to many issues that have arisen in the decades post Barthes’s era. A case in point, the fashionable fascination with reality that overtook fashion, art and entertainment in the 1990’s (think of the beginning seasons of MTV’s Real World, Benton billboards, Calvin Klein ads, heroine chic, Jenny Holzer, Barbara Kruger and YBA-er Tracey Emin in their 90’s glory). Glamour to be found in the everyday and in the appearance of a stripped down truth. Today’s Instagram and social media sharing culture a perfect innovative supplementation of this fascination.

Art and fashion are intertwined, connected like twins separated by birth but living with parallel urges and definitions of self. At art fairs and biennials this relationship is most apparent. There is one artist who is especially adept at playing on these tensions that underbelly art, fashion, celebrity and branded reality. To name this artist is slightly complex. kHyal, whose original name began transformation in 1981 from Kyle Ann Braun to eventually the trademarked pseudonym kHyal™ also uses the naming “kHyal Kouture” on social media and “MegaGlam” as an umbrella identity for all her creative work. Her process of trademarking and branding her identity began in the 90’s. It is not just her name, which is complex. She has created a labyrinth of creative work the seamlessly blends design, art and fashion through the use of bright graphic characters and patterns that fill space like an emoji rainstorm. Her characters and patterns are a visual library transferred into composite images, posters, stickers and wearable art. kHyal is photographed in her eye-popping sporty ensembles often with the location of where the performative act is taking place slapped aside the image like a fashionable ad, or her location seemingly cues an exotic editorial destination from the pages of an edgy fashion magazine. She acts as a beacon with her charismatic presence spotlighting people or a place harnessing the re-contextualizing to contextualize power that fashion and art share.

At Art Basel Miami Beach this year kHyal and her partner/collaborator Karl Heine, exploded on the Miami scene with public art installations in the Wynwood Art District and creating a whirlwind of images of kHyal’s new line of wearable art. Art fairs, biennials and gallery openings are certainly not devoid of eccentric dress or charismatic personalities, however moments captured in the resulting images from kHyal and Karl’s collaboration is very interesting. Where play starts and seriousness begins is uncertain which creates a tension for viewers. Images occasionally capture onlookers who carry the look of awe that anyone does when they see a celebrity or something so out of the ordinary it lends a pause to their actions. The deeper this work goes into the inner caverns of the art world, the greater it gets and similar to our guilty pleasure of our favorite celebrity’s Instagram account, kHyal’s cool capture merges thought provoking obsessions that beg for constant updates.

Q: Your work delivers so much punch! It also merges together many different elements (i.e. art, illustration, surface, product, textiles, and fashion design). This is a mixture that not many artists successfully bring together. How did MegaGlam begin?

A: I have always been a multitasker. Since early childhood, I can remember writing and illustrating my own books, painting, drawing, collaging, making dioramas, dressing up in costumes of my own design, and creating temporary installations inside and out using whatever materials were at hand. Nearby, at my grandmother’s house where I often stayed, there was always a sewing machine and workshop awaiting my creativity. Having access to these tools, and ordinary supplies, equated to my freedom from the bland structure of everyday life.

Fast forward to when I officially launched MegaGlam. I first tried to focus on one area of my output, but very quickly realized that it was destined to be a repository of multiple disciplines, blended into a cohesive sphere with a strong imprint. My psyche is best soothed by conjuring worlds that integrate cross-platform interconnectedness.

Q: Vanessa Friedman of the New York Times recently wrote an article on Beyoncé and the idea of her as a fashion icon. In the article, Friedman critically questions what designates a fashion icon versus an icon period. Friedman defines fashion icon as someone who inspires designers (basically as a muse), has large impact influencing fashion, is loyal to a label, whose name sells fashion, and whose fans emulate her through clothing. I relate this article to your work because there is celebrity/icon play is such a powerful and poignant part of your MegaGlam work. What are your thoughts on this?

A: This is fascinating. I hadn’t read it and I know very little about Beyoncé because I don’t watch commercial television or listen to popular music. It would seem that in Beyoncé’s case, a very deliberate attempt for escalating celebrity and financial reward is being made by implementing the most fruitful marketing strategy for personal gain. I would categorize it as smart business. While I can see and appreciate that as a life designed for career success and super stardom, I am more interested in transforming the power of the ordinary into the exceptional. How amazing would the world be if we could teach every individual how to meet his or her true potential? And, to value themselves enough to be up for the challenge.

A: I would like to integrate my art further into commercial pursuits, so the seams in my persona disappear.

Q: What is the greatest piece of career or personal advice you ever received?

A: I moved to Los Angeles when I was twenty, and got a job doing art restoration and period framing for clients like LACMA and The Getty Museum with Richard Tobey in Beverly Hills. He owned the building we worked in, and rented an upstairs studio to the artist Mendij. Mendij and I became good friends, and I still am indebted to him for the wisdom he shared with me. Much of it was philosophical, but practically, the advice that has changed my own life as a creator was to be careful with my time. That social pursuits take away time that is better spent developing work. Although, by my social media feeds, it may look like I am constantly out socializing, 99% of that time I am participating in learning and/or industry events. Otherwise, I prefer to be working.

Q: If you could collaborate with anyone (living or no longer here on Earth), big wish list kind of thing (and you can’t say Karl:), who would it be?

Q: How has your performance art evolved in recent projects? What are your primary concerns when you are in the act of performing? Has this changed over time?

A: I think it’s important to understand the full evolution and background of my need to perform in order to put context to recent projects. I was born terrified of other people. My social awkwardness was crippling, even in college. So I forced myself to overcome this anxiety by taking public speaking courses and putting myself in situations where I could practice interactions, and speaking in front of crowds. My art had been a silent shield throughout my childhood, but I knew that in order to move forward and thrive interdimensionally, I needed to go beyond the written word and visual communication.

In the 80s, I started a band called “The Ultra Violet Rake.” I was the sole member, and would record multi-layered MIDI soundtracks in advance. I would perform in elaborate vintage ball gowns that I bought on the cheap at thrift stores, with a boom box playing my prerecorded audio, in front of a backdrop I painted, or sometimes a more elaborate installation including video and animation. One performance consisted of running a device up and down my arms that I found at a flea market, which was also the namesake of my band, a wand with a glass rake-shaped light bulb that emitted electricity and mild sparks when it came in close contact to skin. So, in a strapless ball gown I made violet light softly crackle in streams across my skin. Doing so, made me comfortable in front of a crowd. That device, by the way, was from the 1920s and was called the Violet Ray Machine, marketed for electrotherapy.

Q: From a design standpoint, what inspires your pattern work and illustrations? The color palette is very vibrant in both your abstract or character designs. Looking at designs such as Rainbow Target Mutli or Sausage and Egg Smiles verses the MegaGlam Bubble Creatures or Weather sKwirls?

A: I’m not sure why I oscillate between characters and patterns. As a child, and young adult, I created characters as “friends” when I needed them. They took many forms, but the connecting thread is that they made me feel part of something, like family.

I have always loved color. I equate it to energy. Color fuels my brain and brings me happiness, it’s like the sun for me. I know a lot of people who feel that way about music. And, although I love music, I get obsessed with working and forget to turn it on most of the time, but I never forget to turn on the color. It’s the center of my natural ecosystem.

The color pink, and squirrels, have been driving forces in my life since young adulthood. I didn’t care about anything pink as a kid, only later. The Weather sKwirl came about one day after a conversation with my husband over weather, another topic I am obsessive about. He made a comment something to the effect, that if I felt so strongly about weather and squirrels, I should do something about it. So I went immediately to my computer and created The Weather sKwirl. For two years straight I drew and posted a different comic with this theme every day. It led to Weather sKwirl themed art, products and public art commissions. But, this weather-obsessed squirrel’s chief task was to relieve my anxiety. The expression on his face clearly illustrates that, as if passing it onto this character relieves my own stress.

Targets are double rainbows, and rainbows are targets split in half. I like to play with and invert imagery. I have been a target, and under a black rainbow, and this illustrative play helps me work out these ideas with a visual spin while bringing the color back in. It resolves conflict.Food related icons, like eggs, sausages and bacon are a long-time compulsion. I have always loved breakfast, and in my early twenties I was a model and anorexic. I was trying to disappear and reduce my visibility by not eating, but this backfired on me. I seemed to have starved in an aesthetic way that made me more attractive, which is why the modeling agencies hired me for runway work. So, back to sausage and eggs smiles. I love images of breakfast foods, then and now. And, though I don’t eat meat, I like drawing my own versions of it.

Q: How did you get your start in illustration, pattern and surface design?

A: My father was an artist and illustrator. In my formative years, I witnessed the process of creating as part of what some people did. I learned to use it as a language I felt comfortable communicating in. I was much better at making art, or consuming art and design magazines and books, than I was trying to interact with people.

Q: The I Do What I Want action apparel performance art is brilliant, you debuted the performance at Art Basel in Switzerland in June, how would you describe your process from idea to execution?

A: The “I Do What I Want” mantra comes from surviving my youth. When I was younger it meant a lot of rebellion, which lead to friction in areas I no longer need to combat. Now, it stands for being my authentic self, living honestly and compassionately.

The Art Basel Switzerland action apparel was a uniform of truth, staking my claim without pushing it on anyone who doesn’t choose to take it in. It also breaks down the hierarchy of what art is, and who can show it. So much of the art world is about exclusion, and I have always felt that quality makers can come from anywhere, using any media. It shouldn’t be about money, popularity, trends, taste or who you know. It’s about the power of the work you make. My work is always an attempt to demonstrate that concept. In this case, by creating and wearing my work, I am my own performance, and I become part of the art fair, without permission, without caring about other people’s opinions or judgments. And, I can decide to place myself in these settings articulated in any number of ways, and become sculptural. I have always felt like my body was made to be a kinetic sculpture. And, so fashion is the way I demonstrate that, and action gives it liftoff, whether subtle or intense. When I am being true to myself in this way, I reach a place of absolute confidence, and so it’s really just a remedy for anxiety. The fact that some people seem to react positively is a bonus, because if what I’m doing as a life hack to problem-solve for myself helps other feel good, even momentarily, it becomes even more meaningful because my language is being understood at some level. Of course, there are many people in these environments that look surprised, confused, even fearful of the way I present myself, and I have to laugh, because it’s just color and pattern. But, I make a mental note and use that reactional data to fuel my next initiative. I would have liked to have studied science, but my natural aptitude is in art. Still, I treat life like a science lab.

My favorite quote best encapsulates the work I do: “Art does not lie down on the bed that is made for it; it runs away as soon as one says its name; it loves to be incognito. Its best moments are when it forgets what it is called.” —Jean Dubuffet

Q: Undoubtedly, the power of the image is paramount to your work. The resulting image from your performance work, critically folds the different levels that you are conceptually hitting, i.e. branding, social media, art industry, fashion industry, the fashion icon, or just icon itself, art as social interaction/commodity, intervention in public spaces etc. What would you describe as the main influences that you are conscious of when you perform and in choosing resulting images?

A: I crosscut along a wide breadth of industries and issues, but my ambition is in building strength of character. My work is often a personal demonstration of the power of the individual. I refuse to be derailed or categorized by the typical judgments of society. Though much of my visual work can be applied benignly in a commercial aftermarket, it was born a suit of armor.

Images courtesy of the artist, and by Karl Heine.

Q: Who are artists that you are interested in watching the trajectory of their careers?

A: I’ve already watched one that couldn’t get much more trajectory. I was a Matt Groening fan since the early 80s, long before The Simpsons. However, I’m always happy to hear success stories for artists I think do great work. Even when it’s not in line with my personal taste. There is already too much mediocrity in the art, design and other worlds, so it’s a win when true originality surfaces and is rewarded.

The work of MegaGlam was included in the ADC Global Awards & Club Laser Cat events in Miami at the Bass Museum and in Brooklyn during 2014. Laser Cat, a giant cat head that projects art through its laser beam eyes, was created by Hungry Castle.

MegaGlam’s work was also included in the promo email for the Brooklyn event.

“The second annual Design Works benefit party for Franklin Street Works in Stamford took place on November 15, 2014. Guests enjoyed a pop-up shop, food, wine and beer and music featuring These Animals. The event honored The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum Exhibitions Director, Richard Klein, who was introduced by Artist Mark Dion.”

We were happy to contribute our design chops to this great cause. It was also great to see Mark Dion after a long hiatus. I worked with him on a public art project curated by Anne Pasternak in 1991 called “Art… Not News” at Real Art Ways.

11 FiberArtists/Textiles/SurfaceDesigners to Watch

A tour de force of energy and creative vivaciousness. kHyal is an innovator impervious to boundaries. The work pulsates with infectious energy deftly combining visual cues that strike many chords. Her work is featured internationally.

Fashion As Art Exhibition and Fashion Show at Gallery 66 NY

The Gallery 66 NY “Fashion As Art” event featured a national juried gallery exhibition of fashion-inspired art and standalone fashion show. Three MegaGlam pieces were chosen by Kelly Cutrone, owner of the fashion public relations firm, People’s Revolution; judge on America’s Next Top Model; and featured personality on MTV’s True Life, Dr. Phil, and The Hills and the City. As well as Carla Goldberg, Director of New York City’s Skylight Gallery and Bau Gallery of Beacon; and member of the Council of the International Coalition of Artists, and the Committee for the Women’s Caucus for the Arts.

“Fashion Al Fresco”

June 27, 2014

By Alison Rooney
for The Paper, Cold Spring, NY

It was fashion al fresco outside of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church on Sunday (June 22) with the path toward the church and the Parish Hall serving as the runway for the Fashion As Art II Fashion Show.

The event featured the work of several professionals along with six Haldane student designers. All the pieces were tied to or inspired by works of art. Some were even edible.